Mamie Till-Mobley, mother of Emmett Till, delivers a speech in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1955. Photo by Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images

The reason Emmett Till's murder played such a consequential role in the Civil Rights movement is because of choices of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. For more than 45 years after his murder, she continually worked to make sure he did not die in vain.